20,970 research outputs found
Episode 73: Coffee Talk: Adam Levy
No full textAdam Levy joins Dr. Kim Perlak and Professor Sheryl Bailey on this episode of Coffee Talk
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
No full textAdam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,
How Might Adam Smith Pay Professors Today?
No full textAdam Smith’s proposal for paying professors was intended to induce increased faculty knowledge. If students have imperfect information about what they learn, and universities can only imperfectly measure the input of faculty time in student learning, publications may be used to measure faculty knowledge. If professors’ ability to publish is positively related to their ability to produce student learning, which universities can imperfectly measure, publications may be necessary to attract more able professors. Since research signals faculty knowledge, schools that do not value publications per se could require higher publication standards and pay higher wages than schools that value only publications.
ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?
No full textThe conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,
Personal Papers (MS 80-0002)
No full textLetter from I. H. Kempner to Adam Levy requesting that the in return for the funds pledge by the Kempner family to the Temple B'nai Israel Building Fund a plaque be installed memorializing I. H. Kempner, Jr. and dictating where it should be located
Fighting over the land. by Adam Levy
No full textThe New Zealand Government's proposals for final settlement of all Maori land claims. [Waitangi
Adam Smith and Roman Servitudes
No full textThis essay is a preprint of an article that appeared at: Tijdschrift voor Rechstsgeschiedenis, 72 (2004), 327–57.This essay discusses Adam Smith historical jurisprudence and his use of Roman law materials in his Lectures on Jurisprudence. It argues that Smith found it difficult to maintain his theory of legal development in the face of a highly developed body of Roman law literature
"Are Housing Prices, Household Debt, and Growth Sustainable?"
No full textRising home prices and low interest rates have fueled the recent surge in mortgage borrowing and enabled consumers to spend at high rates relative to their income. Low interest rates have counterbalanced the growth in debt and acted to dampen the growth in household debt-service burdens. As past Levy Institute strategic analyses have pointed out, these trends are not sustainable: Household spending relative to income cannot grow indefinitely.
Upon Daedalian Wings of Paper Money: Adam Smith and the Crisis of 1772
No full textAdam Smith advocated laissez faire for most sectors of the economy, but he believed that banking and finance required several forms of regulation including usury laws and the prohibition of small-denomination bank notes. Smith’s support for banking regulation appears to have been a response to the shocks that hit the Scottish banking system during the time that he was composing the Wealth of Nations. The most important was the Crisis of 1772, which has been described as the first modern banking crisis faced by the Bank of England. It resembles the Crisis of 2008 in a number of striking ways. This paper describes the Crisis of 1772, the other shocks that hit the Scottish banking system, and the evolution of Smith’s views on the regulation of banking. It is based on Smith’s writings, the secondary sources, and a quantification of the new issues of Scottish bank notes during Smith’s era.
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